Thursday, November 17, 2022

SAN ANTONIO, Texas  – Northwest Nazarene is earning a reputation as a giant killer after defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills 3-2 with a pair of goals in the final three minutes to seal a deal.

The Nighthawks were forced to come from behind at Sigma Beta Chi Field in San Antonio, Texas to advance to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals despite scoring early and did so in shocking fashion.

Northwest Nazarene didn’t have to wait long to get on the scoreboard. After the Toros came out of the gates looking sharp, it was the Nighthawks who found the back of the net first on a nifty play from junior midfielder Alan Soto Ortiz who danced past the Dominguez Hills defense at the top of the box before taking a deft sidestep that gave him breathing room for a shot. His strike curled left and fired past the CSUDH goalkeeper off the goalpost into the net just 10 minutes into the match.

The Nighthawks looked much more comfortable playing with a lead and shut down the high-danger looks that the Dominguez Hills offense was able to generate with composed defense in their box. The biggest moment for the NNU defense came when the Toros were awarded a penalty kick due to a handball in the box. Junior goalkeeper Sawyer Price came up big, picking his spot correctly and diving to his left to make the save and maintain the Nighthawks’ 1-0 lead going into halftime.

The second half saw a definitive momentum change in favor of the Toros who came out surging. Northwest Nazarene was pinned back in its own zone for much of the frame as Dominguez Hills seemed to be able to play at a higher pace and dominated the possession game. Price was forced to make several big saves in net while the defense was pushed back on its heels. He ended the match with six saves against 22 shots.

The Toros broke through with a goal from reigning Division II West Region Player of the Year, Sulaiman Bah in the 60th minute. The pressure didn’t let up there, though, as CSUDH took the lead for themselves in the 83rd minute and proceeded to control play comfortably.

With five minutes to go, it looked like the Nighthawks’ magical run was about to end, but GNAC Newcomer of the Year Nestor Serrano proved that they still had magic left to show. Serrano worked himself into position during a free kick and corralled the rebound before firing the ball past the Toros’ goalkeeper to tie the match at 2-2 in the 88th minute.

It was the hero of the Cal State LA match who came through again just one minute later, as sophomore midfielder Lukas Juodkunaitis took advantage of a quickly developing play in the box and punched through the game-winner. Juodkuaitis has now recorded three goals and an assist over three postseason matches.

With the win, Northwest Nazarene advances to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals and will face the winner of No. 2 seed Saint Mary’s (Texas) and No. 3 seed CSU Pueblo on Saturday in San Antonio.